LOGICal eMOTIONs

What I learned from RUMMAGING!

// May 6th, 2007 // 14 Comments » // Brain Dump, Meme Posts

My absolute favorite place to do a bit of rummaging is in the bargain sections of major bookstores. Recently, Colleen and I were at Indigo picking up some magazines to keep current on that which we feel we must, and while waiting for Colleen to finish in the home decor section, I decided to dive into the ‘Last Copies’ section to see what has been forgotten about.

Now, the most memorable title was: “Another Bullshit Night In Suck City” by Nick Flynn which was listed on Amazon as “A homeless man’s assessment of life on the streets”. Possibly quite riveting, however, I decided to pass on the $4 book and continue the rummaging. I mean really, it was found on the bottom shelf of the bin, in a drawer that was definitely not an integral part of the overall storage system – if you’re not in the ‘upper crust’ of the bargain bin, I’m likely to pass. Standards people! Standards.

Ok, so back to the rummaging and really coming up with very little except old outdated Microsoft MySQL manuals and even older Photoshop how-to picture books designed for the 10 year old in your life (it’s the only way I could explain the pop-ups), I looked down directly in front of me and recognized a name!

TED BARRIS

Ted Barris?! What the heck is Ted’s book doing in the ‘Last Copies’ section?

Now, before going any further, it should be mentioned that I have quite a bit of knowledge of Ted and what he does… For never having actually met the man. When my wife started the journalism program at Centennial College here in Toronto, Ted Barris was one of the esteemed educators. What I didn’t know then, but soon found out, was that Ted is a bit of a war history enthusiast and we actually belong to the same organization: Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association (CHAA). Myself, I came into the organization through a sub-group of CHAA titled “The Recovery Team” (you can read about it here), and although we are quite aware of each other, we can’t decide if we have actually met… Weird, I know.

Anyways, the part that struck me about finding Ted’s book in the ‘Last Copies’ is that at some point, a piece of our life’s work will eventually end up in the same bin.

Quite the slightly morbid thought for all writers as we develop our craft and work diligently on our great writing works. Have we accepted the fact that our book will find it’s way to the ‘Last Copies’ bin? Now alternately, this IS in itself, a great accomplishment! You can’t actually start in the bin!

Even by eventually landing in the bin, at some point you made a decision, chased a passion, had a great run, and have all the memories of the journey. To end up in ‘the bin’, at some point your work was a SKU in a major book reseller, at least one person purchased your wisdom, and for all you know, you actually changed someone’s life.

How many authors don’t even make it to the shelves?

It’s always sad to see books in the ‘Last Copies’ section, yet if we step back for a second, and look at more than the bin in the back of the store, there is a victory, and someone was able to celebrate it.

Shoot for the stars because at least you have the option of landing on the moon.

Photo by.. ME!

This post has been possible thanks to Robert Hruzek’s writing project.

UPDATE: Here is the list of all the entries complied thanks to Bob:

Here is the complete list of entries, each one finishing the phrase “What I Learned From…”

“… Teen Girl Squad”, by Markk at My Opinions Are Important

“… the Mt. Pinatubo Eruption”, by Ronald Huerca at Ronalfy.com

“… Drugs”, by Sam Brougher at Forest Azuaran

“… a Mesquite Tree”, by Mike DeWitt at Spooky Action

“… Drinking Starbucks Coffee”, by George Manty at Can I Make Big Money Online

“… My Wife!”, by Rajaram Sethuraman at Thoughts of a Rambler

“… Having a Daughter”, by Marco Richter at FitForFreedom

“… Norm”, by Joe Raasch at The Happy Burro

“… my mentors”, by Karin H. at The Kiss Business Too

“… Procrastinating”, by Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business

“… a Squirrel”, by G.L. Hoffman at What Would Dad Say

“… Blogging”, by Gayla McCord at Mom Gadget

“… a Weight Problem”, by Monique Attinger at Insurance Guide 101

“… Taking Out the Garbage”, by Michael Chantrel at Mortgage Guide 101 Blog

“… RUMMAGING!” by William Tully at LOGICal eMOTIONs

“… A Light Switch”, by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings

Popularity: 15% [?]

Pimp’n Ain’t Easy…

// April 26th, 2007 // 5 Comments » // Blog & Tech Items, Meme Posts

Where to start… Where to start….

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be mentioned in a list post by our friend Bob. Now, this list is, as far as I understand (which isn’t far), a list/post designed to enlighten readers as to some great blogs, and it’s also designed to bump up one’s Technorati ranking.

*insert crossroads here*

1. happy to be included
2. opportunity to ‘discover’ some more great blogs
3. do I care about my Technorati ranking?
4. does a post like this add value to my blog, my readership, or me?

I will admit that I still have yet to figure out the true power of Technorati, not to mention why it is held in such regard. On the other hand, it could be that I have yet to figure this out simply because my ranking is so low…

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that my blog is extremely unique. My readership is small, yet remarkably loyal, and it is growing consistently each week. It is my hallucination that my readership visits this blog for a unique perspective, some clever wit, a weekly image find that has been carefully chosen, and a lack of ‘blog stuff’ that gets covered everywhere else.

Sure, I am a HUGE fan of memes for a variety of reasons: fascination of propagation within a community, unique perspectives and insights to the same topic, and it allows one to step out into the pure creativity realm where abstract thoughts can be triggered and explored. Now, not everyone enjoys memes and prefer to think of them as chain-letters of the blog world – which is fine, and I learned a lot from the last one…

Ok, so what is this link list/post thing I’m obviously stalling on participating in while I figure out whether or not it falls into a meme, or even if I should be participating…

It’s not a meme. There are no personal insights (conveniently forgetting I just wrote the above), there are no direct requests from others to do anything, and the value-add is for the promotion of one’s blog.

Now, do we miss an opportunity to promote our blog? See, now that is a tough one simply because I understand that there are likely readers who would very much like to know of my blog (let’s be realistic, take the number of people on the net and tell me that there isn’t at least a couple who will become your biggest fan), yet the last thing I want to do is fill my blog with ‘blog promotion stuff’. I don’t post a lot each week, simply because it takes me FOREVER to finish a post, and usually, the stuff in ‘draft’ isn’t worth posting yet. The easiest posts are these types of posts which can quickly fill a blog, clog the cause, and back up all over your site, which means you’re left with a big mess that needs to be cleaned up before you can get back on task…

So do I participate? Yes. I am a part of a community, and a good friend was kind enough to include me. I’m not about to let him down or make him think he made a bad choice, and of course I will honour other inclusions sent my way. I think that by setting a personal rule that I must have two posts (minimum) on topic before I can participate in the next inclusion (list or meme), it should keep the blog on track, and still allow for some promo-posts along the way.

Right then, now that it’s all converted to clear mud, on with the list-thingy:

***Start Copying Here:***

Here are the rules:

1) Write a short introduction paragraph about how you found the list and include a link to the blog that referred you to the list.

2) COPY the Rules and ENTIRE List below and post it to your blog. To avoid duplicate content and increase the amount of keywords your site can accessible for, go ahead and change the titles of the blog. Just don’t change the links of the blog.

3) Take the three blogs listed under “My New Faves” and move them to the bottom of “The Original Faves” list.

4) Add 3 Blogs that you’ve just added to your Technorati Favorites to the “My New Faves” section. Remember to also add the “Fave Me” link next to your new blogs (i.e. http://technorati.com/faves?sub=addfavbtn&add=

http://www.yourfavesdomain.com)

5) Add everyone on this list to your Technorati Favorites List by clicking on “Fave the Site.” Those who want to respond will fave you back. If not, you will for sure get the benefits of faves from the bloggers who continue this list after you.

My New Faves

1. Conversation Agent – Fave the Site
2. HELLO, My Name Is BLOG – Fave the Site
3. Digital Digressions – Fave the Site

The Original List

• Chips Quips – Fave the Site
• Creative Think – Fave the Site
• LOGICal eMOTIONs – Fave the Site
• Dawud Miracle – Fave the Site
• Gary Lee – Fave the Site *
• Dosh Dosh – Fave the Site
• Nate Whitehill – Fave the Site
• Jeff Kee – Fave the Site
• Scribble on the Wall – Fave the Site
• Jimi Morrisons Head – Fave the Site
• Jon Lee – Fave the Site
• Samanathon – Fave the Site
• Eat Drink & Be Merry - Fave the Site
• The Man of Silver – Fave the Site
• Hannes Johnson – Fave the Site
• My Dandelion Patch – Fave the Site
• Nathan Drach – Fave the Site
• SiteLogic – Fave the Site
• Julies Journal – Fave the Site
• Tea & Slippers – Fave the Site
• The Thinking Blog – Fave the Site
• Pencil Thin – Fave the Site
• Essential Keystrokes – Fave the Site
• Mom Gadget – Fave the Site
• Engaging the Disquiet – Fave the Site
• Monk at Work – Fave the Site
• Converstations – Fave the Site
• The Kiss Business Too – Fave the Site
• HomeMom3 – Fave the Site
• Grow Your Writing Business – Fave the Site
• Quartz Mountain – Fave the Site
• Prime Advertising Blog – Fave the Site

***End Copying Here***

Photo by ryancr

Popularity: 19% [?]

Passionate Obsessions

// April 16th, 2007 // 6 Comments » // Brain Dump, Meme Posts

“TAG!” – I think I have to run faster…

Ok, so we’re back again with another MEME, and no, I didn’t start this one too. The topic for this one is simply “What are 5 things you obsess about?”.

Obsess: be preoccupied with something
Passion: an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action

In Bob’s post, he mentions that he feels that ‘to obsess’ is negative and would rather use the more positive ‘passion’, which I think fits a bit better simply because I see obsessing about something (or 5 things) as a short-term preoccupation, whereas passion is a long-term motive. Yes, I will agree that there are examples of both the opposite for each, however, the end result is typically not the… desired one…

(well that was nicely done Tully, you’ve now completely painted yourself into a corner and are now unsure how to exactly answer the question….)

HEY! Ok, I’ve got it: “What are the 5 things you passionately obsess about regularly?”

Technology
“Hello, my name is Tully, and…. I am a technology junkie.” I love new technology and all the shiny, blinky, logical bliss that comes with it, whether it’s as simple as my new SuperLooper Loopback Jack, or my Dad’s new 007 Limited Edition Sony Vaio (two most recent acquisitions), I’m like the kid who just got locked in the toy store overnight! Why? Not sure, however, my suspicions are that it’s the potential for doing new things that new technology brings. New gadget? I can now do something new, or at the very least, more efficiently…

Efficiency
I have always said: “Laziness drives efficiency.”, and it does. The only reason we have wonderful and fantastic things to do tasks more efficiently is because someone, at some point decided that they were putting in WAY too much effort, and developed something to do it for them. On the creative side of it, for me, I derive great pleasure in looking at a task and exploring the “What if we did it this way”… Whether it works or not then becomes a process of, um, process and logic.

Logic
Could I really not mention this given my blog title? Well I could not have, except I know there are at least a couple keeners who would pounce on me.. So yes, I am both passionate and OBSESSED with logic. A + B = C, each time and every time. Sure, I have this laid-back writing and teaching style, a sharp wit paired with a desert-like dry sense of humor (did I mention sarcasm too?), yet seething deep within is my personal quest to bring logic and order to the world… Too bad I’m being ambushed by emotion (HA! got the other part of the blog title in there!)..

Moving Pictures (with sound)
Television and movies are my Achilles… Possibly (and likely) due to the alpha waves, however, I like to be entertained by something other than my own brain for a while. I respect the writers for their creativity, and the directors for brining it to ‘reality’. The more complex the show or movie, the more I become engrossed.

Purpose
Call it passion, call it obsession, or call it whatever you like, this is the big one currently and has been for the past couple significant portion of my life. In high school I had no idea what I was to do with my life, thought I had it in college – didn’t. And so, I’ve been on the hunt for quite a few years now. I can now honestly say that I am SO much closer to being able to (logically) define it than ever before, however, it is still the all-consuming ‘thing’ in my life. I have been learning about business the last couple years, I’ve discovered my ability to teach, write, and most recently, I’ve discovered this hidden love of philosophy… Can I define what my purpose is yet? Not quite, however, I’ve got some great pieces being added which are beginning to make sense, and THAT, is exciting!

So, there we have it. 5 items, fresh from my brain… NOW it’s someone else’s turn!

First, the rules:

1. Link back to the person who ‘tagged’ you (that would be me)
2. List your 5
3. Tag 5 bloggers of your choice (email them too to let them know)

Ok, the five which I would like to tag are: Ben, Mel, Cody, Steli, and of course, Chris.

Photo by Zulpha

Popularity: 1% [?]

One Question, One Answer – How To

// March 22nd, 2007 // 7 Comments » // Brain Dump, Meme Posts

Ok, at Liz’s sound request, here are the definitive instructions on how to actually DO this little meme, because apparently they’re lost in my ramblings that started it all… I would tend to agree…

We will start from the point where you have been tagged by someone and you’re wondering what to do next.

1. Decide if you are ABLE to participate. There is a time limit of 7 days from when you are asked a question to your response. If you are unable to participate, PLEASE notify the TAGer so that they may re-direct or change their question to someone else.
2. Title your post: One Question, One Answer
3. Please reference the originating post so your readership can flow back along the trail.
4. Answer the question asked to the best of your abilities. Whoever asked you, asked for your opinion/adivice – not a list of other websites, blogs, reference material – they want to hear it from you, as you see it, based on your life experience/knowledge to date. Whether you like it or not, you are the expert right here, right now.
5. Think of ONE blogger and ONE question that you would like to ask of them.
6. Search their blog for ‘One Question, One Answer’ to see if they have been tagged already or not. Loopback is not good.
7. Ask your question in the same post as your answer and TAG the person you would like to have answer it. (Give me a tag Vasili, one tag only please)
8. Notify the sucker TAGee (blogger) of your post via email.

Special Note: You may ask a question on any topic you wish and the person you have asked to answer it should be the ideal person to actually answer it. Also, if the person you tag is unable to participate for whatever reason, feel free to change people and even the question if you desire.

You get ONE question – make it count!

.

Photo by drp

Popularity: 10% [?]

Time For MEMEtization!

// March 20th, 2007 // 5 Comments » // Brain Dump, Meme Posts

Another Meme? Well, yes, and a little no…

I started a post back about a week ago with the title: Herding Cats. I use this phrase quite a bit simply because it works so well in many instances and it really works well when trying to explain what happens when you set forth a meme.

Some, take off like wild fire (example 1), and then, some become something odd that you never really intended – but still work (example 2). The biggest challenge is that most meme’s ‘tag’ 5 people in each post, which means that from the first post you will now have 5 people also posting, and they add 5 friends, and so on, and so on, and *BOOM* – the internet explodes. Ok, well, perhaps not, but it is a MASSIVE challenge trying to follow what is going on – and you want to because there is some great stuff!

So what if there was a single-tag meme? Hrm, well, seems good at the outset with the real challenges only being:

1. Loopback. With tagging 5 people in each post, sure there will be some overlap, however, there is plenty to keep it going. With one tag per post there could be an overlap if someone doesn’t do a simple ‘search’ to see if they’ve been tagged before or not. Not a big issue, but perhaps a critical one.
2. Time. Bloggers are busy and as we all know, sudden ‘extras’ can fall by the way side and get lost and forgotten. With a 5-tagger, again, not really a problem, yet with a single-tagger it could spell disaster.

Alright, so what would happen if we set forth a meme, that involved only a SINGLE tag, the TAGer must search their intended TAGee’s blog for an existing meme post (to ensure no loopback), and the TAGee must post within 7 days of being tagged (or at least notify the TAGer that they do not wish to or unable to participate so that the TAGer can modify and re-tag). That might just solve the two issues and leave us with a single-tag meme….

So what is this elusive meme? After my last post, and when I received Liz’s comment, it triggered this simple meme idea – The Advice Meme. What about a meme where you simply have one question that you would like to have answered, and the person you tag is the one you would like to receive the answer from?

For example, in reference to my last post, the question I came up with was:

Liz, as a full-time/professional blogger, a great deal of your day is spent reading other blogs (direct or via RSS feed), commenting, and blogging – you no doubt have a system that you have been developing for some time now that works well for you.

What ADVICE would you give to relatively new bloggers who are feeling swamped yet only have limited time to read, comment, and blog?

Now, it’s a simple SINGLE question that I would love to have answered, and there is a specific person in mind who I would love to have answer it (keeping in mind that Liz does have a consulting business, the last thing I would want to do is pepper her with 100 questions that she could be billing for). One question – one answer. Also keep in mind that the question can be about anything you want – the key is to ask the person who you think has the answer. This question fits into the ‘blogging’ category, yet if I had a question about marketing I might ask someone else, and the same with a question on personal/professional development.

Liz gets to post the answer on her own blog (thus providing content/value to her readership), I get the straight goods from the person I would like to hear it from, Liz now gets to ask a question of someone she admires and respects, and thus it grows. Also, with there being only a single tag in each post, we can actually track this sucker through and see some of the greatest questions and answers available in the community.

So Liz Strauss, Truffle Queen of Chicago, I tag thee in hopes that you can answer the question I have put forth (above), and if you choose to decline, I fully understand.

Tully.

P.S. To facilitate searching blogs to see if they have been tagged or not, I think a standard post title is needed… My thought (although completely open to suggestion) is: One Question, One Answer.

Photo by Pixel Packing Mama

Technorati tags: meme, advice, Liz Strauss, Pixel Packing Mama, truffles, Chicago, tagged

Popularity: 19% [?]